Britain’s forests, soil and rivers worth £1.6tn, says environment secretary

Liz Truss says putting price tag on environment would help decision-making by businesses and government

Britain's forests, soil and riversare worth at least 1.6tn and should be quantified in the same way as the country's man-made infrastructure, the environment secretary, Liz Truss, has said.

In a move which embraces the natural capital agenda, Truss said that trees and bees should be valued as "national assets" in the same way as structures such as the Forth rail bridge in Scotland.